Garment hanger



Jun@ 2Q? E933., 5. K. WQLFF fl9l'49 GARIMENT HANGER Filed March 22, 1932 ATTORNEY l Patented June 20, 1933 SAUL K. WOLFF, 0F LONG BEACH, yINCEJT YORK GABMENT HANGER pplication led March 22, 1,932. Serial No. 600,471.

5 hanger and its contained garment from the supporting rod in a wardrobe or closet.

ln modern hotels, apartments and private residences, the wardrobes or closets are equipped with round rods ranging from an l@ inch to an inch and a half in diameter to facilitate the storing of garments while upon garment hangers. in many forms of show cases used by cleaning establishments and in merchandising garments, such rods l5 are employed, but instead of being fixed,

they are sometimes movable for the purpose of permitting access to the various garments.

lt has long been recognized that the ordi- 29 nary supporting hook for a garment hanger is so formed that when removing one hanger, and the garment thereon, from the supporting rod, there is great likelihood of the accidental lifting of adjacent garment hangers from the rod and a consequent dropping of the garments upon the door where they may not only become soiled, but become displaced upon the hanger, and wrinkled. This is particularly true of womens dresses made of delicate fabrics. ln the merchandising of'garments, both womens and mens, the refinishing of garments as result of such soiling and wrinkling is a source of considerable loss.

With the above conditions in mind, l have provided a garment hanger, the supporting .Y structure of which is so formed that when it is applied to a rod, it will so encircle and clasp the rod that there is little or no possi- 0 bility of the accidental displacement of a hanger as a result of the removal of an adjacent hanger from the rod. In a hanger embodying the invention, the construction of the hook support therefor is such that the hanger with the garment thereon may be mounted upon the supporting rod with one hand, thus leaving the other hand free to separate adjacent garments in a manner mounted upon the rod, to readily fall into to permit a garment upon the hanger beingv place. The hanger may also vbe removed from the rod with one hand thus allowing the user to employ the other hand in avoiding unnecessary disturbance of garments upon adjacent hangers.

Garment hangers command a very low price and in the hr1. ger of the-invention, the structural characteristics are such that the material used and the manner of assembling same is such as to not materially increase the cost of production as compared with corresponding types of hangers now commonly used. By corresponding types of hangers, l refer to wooden hangers, bent wire hangers, and various forms of collapsible hangers to which the invention is applicable in so much as the type of garment spreading and supporting member used is not material to the invention.

rlhe invention consists prnnarily in a garment hanger embodying therein a support for a garment and suspension means attached to said support comprising two arcuate spring metal jaws extending substantially parallel with each other and with said support, and having their ends spaced and flared from each other, whereby pressing said ends against a bar causes said jaws to automatically separate and close upon the bar, and pulling said jaws against the bar will automatically disengage them therefrom; and in such other novel features of construction and combination of parts as are hereinafter set forth and described and more particularly pointed' out in the claims hereto appended.

Referring to thev drawing,

Fig. l is a view of a garment hanger embodying the invention suspended from the supporting rod and partly broken away to show the manner of attaching the suspension means thereto;

Fig. 2 is a similar view showing'the position of the jaws when mounting or removing the hanger from the bar; and

Fig. 3 is a view similar to Fig. 1 showing the application of the invention to an all wire garment hanger.

Like numerals refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2 of the drawing, the garment support 10 is of an ordinary well known form in which the material used in making the support is wood. The cross bar 11 for increasing the capacity of the support is also of wood, and of the usual construction and arrangement. The shoulder bar of the support 10 has extending vertically therethrough an opening 12 to facilitate the attachment of the suspension means thereto.

The suspension means consists of two arcuate jaws 13 and 14 extending substantially parallel with said support 10 and with each other, the ends 15 and 16 of which are spaced from each other leaving a ga 17, which is of a width less t an the maximum diameter of the rod from which the hanger is to be suspended. Such a hanger is shown in cross section at 18 in each of the views.

The arcuate jaws 13 and4 14 are made of spring wire and are preferably bent to the desired form by ordinary wire bending machine methods, the jaw 13 being formed integrally with a shank 19, and the jaw 14 being formed integrally with a shank 20, these two Shanks being united at the bottom thereof by means of an eye 21 formed inte rally therewith.

y the above construction, the suspension means may be made of a single strand of wire bent to form.

The ends 15 and 16 are outwardly iared as shown and turned upon themselves to avoid the possibility of sharp edges at the ends of the jaws which might tear articles of wearing apparel when placing a hanger in a wardrobe or closet.

A rivet 22 is passed through both side walls of the opening 12 and through the eye 21, thus securing the sus ension means to the garment support. ther securing means may be resorted to, however, if desired.

In the embodiment of the invention shown in Fig. 3, the garment support 10a is made throu hout of wire including the cross bar 11a' t ereof, and the shanks 19a and 20a insteadof being straight parallel shanks asin4 the form of the invention shown in Figs. 1 and 2, are twisted upon each other to aid in maintaining the desired form of the support 10a-11a. The jaw construction in this form of the invention is the same as in the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 and 2 so that the same reference numerals are used in Fig. 3 as in said other Figs. 1 and 2.

In the accompanying drawing, the dimen sions of the wire of which the suspension means is formed are exaggerated as compared with other dimensions of the hanger.

While I have shown the invention in connection with two different forms of garment supports, it is obvious that the particular indicated at ner to avoid any possibility of the escape of the hanger from the bar in the event of the accidental swinging thereof when removing other hangers from the bar. Furthermore, there is no possibility of accidentally lifting the hanger suspension means from the bar. In fact, the construction of the suspension means is such that no lifting action is permissible when removing the hanger from the bar, this removal being possible only as a result of a pull upon the. hanger in a direction substantially corre-l sponding with the horizontal diameter of the bar. v

In mounting the hanger upon the bar, the user merely places the fiared ends 15 and -16 of the jaws 13 and 14 against the bar and pushes the hanger toward the bar. The curvage upon the bar in conjunction with the flared portion of the ends, sprlngs the jaws away from each other, as indicated in Fig. 2 of the drawing, so as to afford suicient clearance between the jaws to permit the passage'of the bar therebetween. Immediately that the ends of the jaws pass the vertical diameter of the bar, they close upon the bar, and in so doing, complete the mounting of the hanger upon the bar as a result of the wedging action developed between the jaws 13 and 14 and the curved surfaces of the rod.

In removing the hanger from the bars, it is merely necessary for the user to pull the hanger away from the bar, the curved surface of they bar co-acting with the curvature of the arcuate jaws to cause separation of the jaws so as to permit them to pass the bar.

It will be noted that the action of the jaws is a result solely of pressure exerted towards the bar 18 upon one side vor the other thereof and that this pressure can be developed with the use of one hand. Consequently, the other hand is left entirely free to adjust the garment upon the hanger or garments upon adjacent hangers so as to avoid disarrangement thereof.

The entire space within the jaws 13 and 14 is free of all obstruction, the sole movement of the aws being toward or from each other at the ends l5 and 16 thereof, which are positioned exteriorly of the partial ring formed by the said jaws.

It has been heretofore pointed out that when the jaws 13 and 14 are closed upon the bar 18, the hanger in its entirety is permitted to swing freely about the bar, but under no circumstances can movement of the adjacent hangers develo suflicient stresses to cause the separation ogthe jaws to an extent to permit the suspension means to .escape from the bar 18.

The diameter of the space within the aws may be substantially the sameas, or slightly greater than, that of the bar 18 although in order to meet the requirements arising from use of bars of different diameters, it is desirable to make the arcuate jaws 13 and 14 of different radii as determlned by the diameter of the bar with which they are dei signed for use. 'I

From the foregoing, it will be apparent that the essential characteristics of the garment hanger of the invention are the combination with a member for supporting a garment or garments, of suspension means embodying therein two spring metal jaws, the ends of which are so spaced apar-t and so formed that when pressed against a rod, they will separate so as to permit the passage of the jaws over the rod. and their closure thereon in a manner to prevent the accidental escape of the suspension means and the parts supported thereby from the rod from any cause whatsoever. At the same time, the aw action is such as to permit ease in mountlng the hanger upon and removing it from the bar.

It is not my intention to limit the invention to the particular form of garment support nor to the otherdetails of construction shown in the accompanying drawing, it being apparent that suoli may be varied withf out departing from the splrit Iand scope of the invention.

Having described'the invention, what I claim as new and desire to'have protected Ijaws to automatically separate and close upon the bar, and pulling said jaws against support, said jaws, said shanks and said means being formed of a continuous strand of spring metal, the ends of said jaws being therefrom, and means whereby said suspension means is connected with said support.

3. A garment hanger embodying therein a support for a garment, suspension means comprising two arcuate jaws extending substantially parallel with each other and with said support, a shank foreach and an eye whereby said shanks may be attached to said support, said jaws, said Shanks and said eye being formed of a continuous strand -of spring metal, the ends of said jaws being spaced and flared from each other whereby pressing said ends against the bar causes the jaws to `automatically separate and close upon the bar, and pulling said jaws against the bar will automatical y disengage them therefrom, said garment support having an opening to receive a portion of said Shanks and a rivet passing through the opposite walls of said opening and said eye.

In witness whereof I have hereunto affixed i my signature this 18th day of March, 1932.

SAULl K. WOLFF.

the bar will automatically disengage them therefrom.

2. A garment hanger embodying therein a support for a garment, f suspension means comprising two arcuate jaws extending substantially parallel with each other and with said support, a shank for each and means whereby said Shanks may be attached to vsaid 

